Flip The Script on Your Next Sales Job Interview
With so many sales jobs out there, there’s no excuse to be stuck in a job you hate. Thy sales job cup doth floweth over so much that you can even turn the tables on the interview process to find the company of your dreams.
Make a company sell themselves to you. Not only will this approach help you avoid any bad fits, it’ll also instantly make you more desirable because you’ll be engaging 110 percent. Walk in to your next interview like a boss, tell them to pull up a chair and start on the way to your next dream job in sales by finding out about these essentials listed below.
The Three Magic Numbers
Sales is like baseball. Both are pretty straightforward at first glance, but when you take a deeper look at the stats a more complex picture emerges. In sales, there are three figures that can tell you virtually everything you need to know:
- Average deal size
- Win rate
- Opportunities created per week
Do some simple math with these numbers and you can predict how bright or bleak your future’s going to be. If each deal is a small amount like $10,000 and your quote is over $2 million, that could present some challenges, especially if the lead generation isn’t in proportion, because you’re going to have to close four deals a week including July 4th and Christmas.
Be sure to ask the sales manager for these numbers. If he or she doesn’t have them, ask sales ops. Once you have them, make sure it’s clear that the sales manager knows how the numbers work by asking the same question up, down and sideways. You want to see credible numbers which show the company has a plan. If you have to close 25 deals, how many leads will you be getting from marketing? If it doesn’t add up, move on.
How Long Is The Sales Ramp Up Time?
It takes time to get up to speed at a new sales job – building up territory and a customer base doesn’t just happen overnight. My last sales job it took about 3 months. You can basically shave those three months off the top and see if the numbers still make sense.
Sales Manager Style
Try to get a feel for how in touch the manager is with the floor and his or her team. A good manager will be aware of what’s happening with their team beyond the numbers.
A good sales manager treats his or her team like an investment. Try to ask questions that gauge how often the manager is out coaching the team, joining in on sales calls and helping out with strategy. Ask a few burning sales questions yourself and see how ready they are to give advice.
Sales Culture
Peter Drucker famously said that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Companies are always evolving – if you have the right culture, employees will evolve with the company and the strategy will work itself out. A salesperson’s livelihood depends on a solid company culture with fluid communication across teams and departments.
There’s a few things you can do both during and after a visit to the company office to get a feeling for the company culture. Scan the room and see if employees are moving around freely or all sitting at their desks. Are people talking and working with each other or is everyone keeping to themselves? How are people dressed? How is the room decorated? Are the salespeople using the latest and greatest awesome apps, like Spiro?
When you speak to the HR rep try to determine what types of people they can attract, what their values are, how they reward their employees, and what their ability is to retain top leadership. Would you be comfortable working in a company that required you to attend three team building retreats every year? Is there a clear review and promotion process?
When you get home, use Glassdoor or The Muse to get different perspectives about the company from former and current employees. Reach out to contacts on LinkedIn to see how they felt about working at the company. Ask specific questions rather than just “did you enjoy working there?”
Sales guys work hard so why not enjoy your job. If you follow these tips you should find the right fit for you.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.
